Page 7 of His Curvy Mate

“How do you know it isn’t me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know anything more than I know how I can suddenly feel who or whatever it is, but I know it isn’t you.”

He smiled at her. “Good. Keep scanning for the malevolence you feel. I will do the navigating for us.”

Nodding again, she fell in behind him. Andreas kept a sharp eye out for treacherous paths and on her. Hellhound and dragon she might be, but she was still in her human form and that made her vulnerable. He reached back to take her hand. Even encased in gloves, he could feel her fingers stiffening and becoming numb, every movement an effort. Despite the cold, he could feel a warmth growing within her, coming down the link. Each time he steadied her or cleared the way, it seemed to chip away at the icy barrier she had thought to build between them.

He halted their progress as he realized the storm had been silenced, although it still raged around them. Only the most powerful wizards could do that.

“Can you hear the footsteps?” she whispered.

“Lots of them.” They exchanged a tense glance between them.

Around an ice ridge, a man with glowing eyes appeared trailed by the glowing eyes of a small army of the undead—twisted paranormal abominations with dark, gaping holes where their eyes should be.

“Xenos,” she said.

“The others?”

“Vampires.”

“I don’t know that term?”

“I’ll explain it later, but for now know decapitation, fire, lengthy exposure to the sun, or a stake through the heart is the only way to kill them.”

He nodded. “Nosferatu.”

"Well, well," Xenos sneered, his voice echoing ominously through the silenced wind. "What do we have here? A Shadow Sister and her loyal dog."

Caye's hand instinctively went to the hilt of her ice axe, but the wizard was faster. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a bolt of dark energy hurtling towards her. She barely had time to react, raising the axe to deflect the jagged bolt, but the force of it sent her sprawling to the ground. The vampires reacted, closing in, their fangs bared.

"Caye!" Andreas shouted, rushing to her side. He brandished the other ice axe, swinging it back and forth—not only to back the vampires off, but to clear some space. The axe felt good in his hand as if it had joined with him and was humming with energy, as he moved against them with a fluid grace—precisely and lethally. One by one, the vampires fell back, those who he was able to decapitate disintegrating into ash.

Caye struggled to her feet and quickly joined the fray. His mate had courage and physical ability. Together they began decimating Xenos’ forces. But as each one fell, another seemed to appear. Just as a vampire lunged at her, Andreas was there, his axe slicing through the air, neatly severing the thing’s head from its body.

"Stay behind me," he commanded, his eyes never leaving the battle.

“Not likely,” she responded.

It was obvious she wouldn’t let him fight alone. She rallied and summoned her strength, joining with him, their movements quickly becoming perfectly synchronized. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with, cutting through Xenos' minions with ruthless efficiency.

Xenos watched them with growing frustration. "Enough!" he roared, raising his hands to cast another spell. This time, a swirling vortex of darkness erupted from his palms, aimed directly at Andreas.

Andreas felt his heart stop cold as without thinking, Caye threw herself in front of him, raising her ice axe to deflect what she could of the dark magic. She managed to thwart some of it, but not all. The impact of the residual spell hit her like a sledgehammer, knocking the wind out of her. She started to collapse as her knees buckled.

"Caye!" Andreas caught her, holding her with one arm while keeping the vampires at bay with his axe in the other. "Stay with me, mate. We have much left to argue about."

She tried to speak but failed. Instead, she smiled wanly and raised her hand up in a closed fist with a thumb sticking up. He had no idea what that meant, but she seemed to be trying to reassure him. All she could do was look at him, her eyes clouding over. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up. She clung to him, the warmth of his body a stark contrast to the cold that was seeping into her bones.

Xenos laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. "How touching. But it won't save you."

“Perhaps not, but this will,” he said, calling forth his dragon and spewing fire, destroying what remained of the army of vampires as he rose from the ground, his great wings beating against the air as he grasped her in one of his talons.

Before he could dispatch the wizard, Xenos disappeared behind a wall of ice and snow. Whatever he had done to abate the storm was now gone, and Andreas faced its full wrath. He needed to get them off this mountain. Caye was not yet fully transformed and would be unable to shift.

Andreas soared through the tumultuous skies, in the opposite direction from where Xenos and his army had come. His massive wings sliced through the biting wind of the ice storm. Each beat of his powerful wings sent tremors through the storm clouds, causing torrents of snow and ice to swirl around it in a chaotic dance. His scales, a deep, shimmering copper, glistened as if they were encrusted with thousands of tiny, glittering ice crystals.

As he made his way down the side of the mountain, the icy tendrils of the storm lashed against his body, but he remained undeterred. Had it not been for his fated mate, he might have retreated to the ice cave, constructed a place for him to rest and allowed the world to grow old without him. But as long as she still breathed, he would fight to keep her alive and by his side.

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